It's best to partition (including fdisk /mbr) and format /s the disk in the ThinkPad, using a Win98SE boot disk. This ensures the MBR code and boot sector installed in the partition actually match Win98, that also there isn't an attempt by modern tools to align the partition in a way that Win98SE can't handle, and that the geometry used in the MBR and to align the partition match what the ThinkPad's BIOS uses.

You don't even need a separate partition. Just copy the \WIN98 directory from the CD-ROM to your bootable C: partition. Then boot from it, and run setup from \WIN98. If needed, you can run xmsmmgr first since you won't have himem.sys loaded from a barebones format /s c: setup.

This also has the advantage of the OS not demanding the CD when you do things like changing network configuration.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2025-09-30, 21:05:

This also has the advantage of the OS not demanding the CD when you do things like changing network configuration.

This is exactly why I always install from the HDD, so that it never asks me the CD again when doing any system conf things ~

Brilliant, thanks for the replies, that makes perfect sense!
I've always installed from cd and have come across issues when making changes and it demands the install cd. Looking forward to doing it this new way

You even dont need to Boot from the fresh Partition. Just boot from floppy, Partition/Format the disk without /s, Copy the Win98 folder and run the setup from disk. This also works for Win95 and even for NT4, 2K, XP (i386 folder there)

Thanks everyone, I did exactly that today and it worked perfectly. I used a 98 boot floppy. I ended up using 95 in the end as it only had 16mb ram. Not actually sure what I'm going to do with it as it's got no cd rom or usb ports, so I can only install via the floppy. I might see if I can get a pcmcia card with usb 1.1
Thanks for the advice!

PCMCIA ethernet, or null-printer aka "LapLink" cable if you have another machine with a parallel port.

electric.speeder wrote on 2025-10-01, 22:35:

Thanks everyone, I did exactly that today and it worked perfectly. I used a 98 boot floppy. I ended up using 95 in the end as it only had 16mb ram. Not actually sure what I'm going to do with it as it's got no cd rom or usb ports, so I can only install via the floppy. I might see if I can get a pcmcia card with usb 1.1
Thanks for the advice!

What's the spec of the machine? It might be that you can double or quadruple the ram with some cheap used ram - but yes, getting something that allows you to use at least usb is going to be very helpful. The nostalgia of multiple floppy installs wears thin quickly!